Quick Shots: Fighting rooftops doesn't help Cubs

Saturday

Feb 1, 2014 at 10:00 AM

By Matt TrowbridgeRockford Register Star

The Cubs should stop fighting the recalcitrant rooftop owners. Even if they won. they might lose. That 20-year contract the Cubs signed in 2004 says the Cubs can't put up windscreens to block the view. A Jumbotron isn't a wind screen. The contract allows for expansion of Wrigley Field. A Jumbotron isn't really that, so a court-win isn't a slam dunk. But the Cubs are at least morally in the right to modernize their ballpark.

But being antiquated is the key to Wrigley's charm. The Cubs didn't become a brand by winning the way the Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals, Cowboys, Lakers, etc. did. They became a big-money brand by being the cuddly team that played in a big-city neighborhood where home runs could rattle off windows.

The Cubs can't leave Wrigley. Not when TV holds the really big money. The Dodgers signed a $7 billion TV deal for 25 years and the Angels $3 billion for 20. The Rangers will get $80 million a year. Fenway is the only park that looks better on TV than Wrigley. And Wrigley looks better with crowds looking down from the rooftops. Fighting the people that helped make them cuddly is squabbling over millions with the risk of losing billions on their next TV deal.

Seattle style key

Seattle has the perfect defense to beat Denver: man coverage with big, physical, talented cornerbacks. It makes no sense to play soft zone coverage against ball-control QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees. If you leave the short passes open, they'll lead their teams on 10- and 15-play drives all day. The way to beat them is to force them to beat you deep. Brady, for instance, was 31st in the NFL on passes at least 25 yards in the air (21 percent) this year. The two teams are equally talented, but the Seahawks' style is why I think they'll win.

Brewers bargain

Milwaukee getting Matt Garza for four years and $50 million is a rare free-agent bargain. He has been above league-average in ERA seven years in a row, is only 30 years old and strikes out three times as many batters as he walks. He's been injured on-and-off the last two years and has never quite delivered on his promise, but he has ace potential. If healthy, even at his worst, he'll live up to his contract.